As we describe in Chapter 15, the original Performa line of Macs differed from their mainstream counterparts primarily in their system software. There was never as much black magic to these special “P” system versions as most people thought — the “P” versions ran on mainstream Macs, just as non-P versions run on Performas.
Today, of course, the following discussion is for historical purposes only; there’s no longer any differentiation between Performa system software and mainstream Mac System folders.
System 7.0.1P
This system debuted on the Performa 200 and 400. Its primary change was the inclusion of the Launcher control panel, which added the Performa’s three key differences from mainstream Macs: (a) a floating push-button application launcher, (b) a Documents folder that automatically collects any new document created, and (c) a desktop that hides itself whenever another program was launched, preventing accidental stray clicks on the backdrop from sending novice users hurtling back to the Finder.
Some of the smaller changes:
n The About This Macintosh command was changed to say About This Computer, and the resulting window no longer identifies the specific model.
n On color Performas, the default screen setting is 256 colors, not black-and-white.
n The modified General Controls panel no longer permits desktop-pattern editing; instead, it has a pop-up menu containing some ready-made 16-pixel-square patterns.
And, while these don’t really qualify as changes to the System software, each Performa was bundled with Apple Backup (a simple backup program) and At Ease (see Chapter 14).
System 7.1P
This tweak to the Performa system debuted with the Performa 600. Its changes are the same as those described under System 7.1, except that the PC Exchange extension was substituted for the aging Apple File Exchange.
System 7.1P1
This minor tweak to the reigning Performa system was purely a bug-fix and polish update. A bug was fixed in the Memory control panel, in which the RAM disk could be made too large; new CD-ROM and StyleWriter II drivers were included; and At Ease icons came preconfigured for the Performa’s bundled software.
Oh, and lest we forget: Apple moved the Mouse Basics icon to the far left side of the screen.
System 7.1P2
We fondly refer to this Performa operating system as The Seahorse Release. It contains absolutely nothing new except for two bug fixes: The Monitors control panel no longer reset to 256 colors every time you turn the computer on. More importantly, the famous Mouse Practice freeze, which occurred when you clicked the seahorse, was fixed (by reducing the application memory by half).
System 7.1P3
This release, dating to November 1993, made a more substantial change to the Performa operating system and was influential enough to shape the future of Apple’s mainstream system versions.
It split the old Launcher control panel into two much more logical components: the new Launcher control panel (see Chapter 14), which was now solely a launching window; and the Performa control panel, which took over all the other responsibilities of the old Launcher (Finder-hiding, Documents folder). The Performa control panel added new features, too: it could prevent items loose in the System folder from being moved, for example (see Chapter 4 for details). Also included in this release was the ShutDown DA, which finally resolved the age-old novice question, “Why do I have to switch back to the Finder just to turn off my machine?”
When the Performa control panel and the ShutDown DA surfaced in System 7.5 (now called General Controls — see Chapter 4), Apple tipped its hand. In adopting virtually all of the unique features of the Performa for use with mainstream Macs, the company indicated that there was no longer any good reason to have a two-track system-software policy. The separate “P” line of System folders (but not the Performas!) has since been retired, having nothing unique to offer.
System 7.1P4, P5, P6
These successive versions of the Performa system were created to accommodate more specific hardware models, such as the Performa 560 and 575 series. They added no new features.
